What It All Means
by ASHTHO
Summary: Ginny is in her 5th year at Hogwarts, and begins to realize just why she loves spending so much time with Hermione. The friendship is growing as are Ginny's Feelings. Femmeslash - Hermione/Ginny.
1. Chapter 1 - As Usual

I don't own any of the Characters, It is all the wonderful J.K Rowlings work.

* * *

As usual, under piles of parchment, Hermione sat in the Library, scribbling notes in preparation for her transfiguration class, she was however, growing tired of Ron and Harry's banter.

"Honestly you two, if you aren't in here to study what _are_ you doing?" Hermione scolded

"Don't be so uptight Hermione, we have been in here for hours! Harry and I have given it a pretty good crack I would say" Ron teased, and almost instinctively ducked in fear of being reprimanded

"You're right Hermione we should be heading off, Ron promised me a bit of Quidditch practice this afternoon anyway, and If I remember rightly, I'm to be ready for a thrashing" Harry throwing a look Ron's way that only stirred the Weasley even further

"You're not the only one that can ride a broom Harry and I've been practicing all break! Besides I really want to be ready for tryouts" Ron concluded

With that the two collected their things, continuing their banter along the corridors and up to the common room, leaving the main brains of the Golden Trio in peace.

Normally Hermione would have relished the peace and quiet but unlike Ron another Weasley had stayed behind, catching the brunettes eye. With that Hermione bundled her parchment and sat herself down next to the redhead.

"Hi Gin" she greeted the younger girl with smile

"Hermione hi!" the redhead seemed thankful for the interruption "I thought I heard Harry and Ron leave, I assumed you went with them"

"No thankfully, your brother has been driving me mad today. I swear he can't concentrate for more than a few minutes at a time at the moment, I know he's not the libraries' biggest fan but…..he's definitely not going to be an Auror at this rate" Hermione concluded

"I can't say I'm surprised, he seems to be more and more preoccupied with female attention of late, and getting on the Quidditch team seems to be his number one priority" the redhead shifted in her seat looking for another piece of parchment

"I agree, I can't say that it's the best use of his time, no girl is going to help him get into the ministry when it comes time" Hermione stated unsympathetically

Seizing the opportunity Ginny teased, "Not unless that girl is Hermione Granger"

The comment drew out the redness in the older witches cheeks "Ginny! Don't tease; Ronald is not at all interested in anything more than copying my notes when I'm not looking! And sometimes he doesn't even wait for that"

Ginny eyed the brunette and giggled at her outburst

The older girls stern look faded and she giggled " besides I really can't say Ronald is my type of" she paused searching for the best way to describe exactly what she felt she was looking for "well he's not my type" the older witch assured

Ginny looked quizzically at Hermione, it was the first time Ginny had really ever heard Hermione speak about, well, anything other than study, Hogwarts or the wizarding world at large.

"Well Miss Granger what is your type?" Ginny casually enquired, trying not to look up too much from her parchment.

"I've never really thought about it to be honest Gin" the brunette reasoned casually not aware of the younger witches gaze now fixated on her "Should I ask you the same?" Hermione smirked as she looked up and caught the red heads eye. Feeling very obvious Ginny pulled her gaze away, blushing slightly at Hermione's clever remark.

It was definitely a question Ginny had asked herself many times. Particularly of late. Ginny had always thought Harry would have been her type, and for a while she had a special spot for him, especially after her rescued her from the chamber and saved her life. She did start to grow close to Harry and she had to admit to herself that they shared a lot of extraordinary moments together. But lately those feelings were almost gone, and she found herself more interested in the girls in her life, in particular, a certain studious witch.

"Well?" Hermione asked with a hint of mock impatience

"Oh, uh sorry Hermione! I was lost in my thoughts for a second" The redhead explained bringing her Focus back to Hermione

"Lost in your thoughts Ginny? A certain boy caught your minds eye?" Hermione quipped

"You really don't know how far from the truth you are Mione" Ginny joked "Besides how would I get all my study done? I would be seriously distracted! And I wouldn't want to fall behind, an older, more studious witch would be seriously disappointed in me"

"Indeed, and you are seriously struggling to keep up as it is" The brunette started to gather her things waiting for the retort from the younger Weasley

Ginny Laughed as she gathered her things also "You have me there, Mione"

* * *

"Right Everyone, get your gear on, we're going to run through a few drills to start off with" Harry Bellowed at the group who were busy pulling on their Quidditch gear ready for another year of tryouts "Just because you made the team last year does not guarantee you a spot this year, is everyone clear on that?"

Ginny was by Harry's side ready to get stuck into so drills with the rest of the group. Ginny had already secured her spot, no surprises to the rest of the group, she was a top flyer. She felt so at home on the pitch, always had. Breaking into the broom shed and stealing her brothers' brooms for years had certainly paid off, she was truly a natural. Ron however wasn't looking so confident; standing up straight on the pitch, he appeared to have a hint of anxiety in his eyes.

"You'll be right mate, just do your best" Harry slapped Ron on the back as he mounted his broom and shot off to the middle of the pitch.

"Easy for Harry Potter to say, he basically caught a snitch the first day he rode a broom!" Ron whined voice shaking and breaking

"Get on your broom Ron, It's not that bad and plus Harry caught Neville's remembrall, Hardly a Golden Snitch" Ginny took off to join Harry in the center of green oval.

As she lapped the stadium a certain brunette caught her attention and she smirked to herself. Hermione wasn't a huge fan of Quidditch but it made sense for her to be there, it was after all Ron first time trying out for the team. Book in lap and parchment by her side, Hermione was making the most of the time in the stands.

Ginny had to admit she was a little more than happy to see Hermione there, lately the redhead had been enjoying Hermione's company more than usual. She always did love having another girl at the burrow over the break; her brothers didn't gang up on her so much with Hermione around. The older witch had quite a talent for witty comebacks and the boys had grown accustom to being put in their place, which meant a lot of the time Hermione and Ginny spent time on their own wandering around the Burrow's surrounds and keeping out of trouble.

The two had continued to grow closer over the years, but recently something felt different for Ginny, she initially thought maybe it was because of all the happenings with Voldermort and maybe it was bringing the two closer in an emotional way. Hermione confided in Ginny a lot of her fears and worries when it came to his return, and likewise Ginny explained her worries about her father working for the ministry, her whole family was a target and both Ginny and Hermione knew it. The two often spoke about how much they cared for each other and Ginny knew her feelings for Hermione were growing. But what could she do? She was certain Hermione fancied Ron, everyone did.

"So what are your thoughts Gin?" Harry raised his voice over the wind whipping through the towers of seats around them "Ron's doing great! A little clumsy but he's stopped every bludger!"

"Ah, yeah! He doing well isn't he" Ginny bluffed, she hadn't really paid any attention, thankfully Harry had been so preoccupied doing what she should have been he didn't really notice.

"Alright, I'll give them a few minutes more and we will call them in, is that enough for you?" Harry circled around and waited for Ginny's reply.

"Sounds fine to me Harry, all good!" Ginny bellowed back and flew off to the opposite end of the pitch. She kept her eye's on the players around her for the next few minutes no more watching older witches in the stands.

* * *

The common room was warm and Ginny slumped down in her favorite spot near the fireplace. She loved flying and a good session on the pitch, but had to admit getting out of her Quidditch gear and snuggling in near the fire was more than fine during the Winter.

"Fancy seeing you here" Ginny recognized the brunettes voice and a hint of cheek if she wasn't mistaken.

"Shouldn't you be at the library" the red head retorted with a smile that the older witch could see.

"Miss Weasley I'll have you know, speaking like that to another student could see you in detention" the brunette collapsed down next to her on the lounge giving Ginny a slight nudge laughed "Ron flew well today"

"He did, silly oaf he was nervous for nothing" Ginny smirked and shifted her gaze to the fire smouldering away.

"I would be nervous too, if my sister could fly as well as you!" Hermione glanced her way and Ginny could feel her eyes momentarily on her.

"I barely flew around today, I had to watch all the others have the fun" Ginny joked as she look over at Hermione, she could see her skin glowing and her eyes were bright in the light of the fire.

"Well you did seem like you were having a good look over towards our stands, who was catching your eye Ginny, I couldn't see any of the boys from your year hanging about" Hermione quizzed.

"Oh no one, I thought I could see one of the girls from my year who said she would definitely be trying out but didn't show" Ginny was quick to explain "I was going to fly over and give her a shove about skipping out on the session"

"Likely story Ginny, I don't buy it" The brunette casually brushing some lint from her sweater "Who's the boy Gin? Not a lot can take your mind off Quidditch, especially tryouts" Hermione questioned the redhead.

"No one Mione, besides why were you keeping tabs on me all session, I thought you might have been there to cheer Ron on!" Ginny stated taking the heat off herself and deflecting it back to the older witch.

"Nonsense I was there to support all of you, Harry did a great job getting them inline today" the brunette now flicking through her advanced potions book "Harry won a vile of liquid luck the other day in class, did he tell you?"

"I could use one of those" Ginny mumbled under her breath.

"Sorry Gin?" Hermione questioned.

"Oh nothing, I was just saying he was lucky to get one of those!" The redhead shifted in her chair not wanting to meet the older witches gaze.

"Indeed he was, trust Harry to win it, I just hope he doesn't use it on anything that he shouldn't" Hermione rightfully stated.

"knowing Harry, that is exactly what he will do!" Ginny chuckled and settled in for some reading along side her best friend.

**AN: Hi all, thank you so much for reading this far! This is my very first fic so hopefully you will enjoy the writing process with me! Feedback is totally welcomed and wish me luck!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Slug Club

**I don't own any of the Characters, It is all the wonderful J.K Rowlings work.**

Ginny was pacing around her dorm, flicking clothes about. Slug Club was tonight and she just couldn't workout what to wear, not that it normally mattered, but for some reason tonight she felt a bit more conscious for the occasion.

'Do I really need to go at all' she thought to herself. 'It's not like it really matters what Slughorn thinks anyway, everyone knows it's just a silly club full of people he wants to know for his "Shelf", I still don't know what I'm doing in there' She was interrupted mid thought.

"Ginny?" Dean Thomas wearily leaned into the redhead's quarters.

"Dean! What are _you_ doing up here? You know it's against the rules for boys to be wandering around girls rooms!" Ginny whined as she continued to flick clothes around.

"Since when do you play by the rules Weasley? Besides I couldn't really study in the common room with all this ruckus going on up here" Dean ducked as Ginny hurled a dress robe at his head and scoffed at his remark "Seriously Gin, what's going on with you? I know you, and getting all worked up about what you are going to wear isn't really top of your priorities"

He paused for a moment as Ginny was lost in her thoughts still mindlessly tossing items of clothing left right and centre.

"Who's the boy Gin?" He questioned the redhead in a sly tone and sat down on the bed.

Ginny continued to hunt for a certain outfit clearly evading her sight.

"Gin, who's the boy?" Dean questioned a little louder.

"What! Oh" Ginny said in a pained voice "No one, nothing Dean. Argh I mean" Ginny stood up straight and composed herself " What do you mean who's the boy Dean? It's not a boy, I just can't find my other Quidditch shin guard and it's been bothering me for a few days now" Ginny huffed and started to re-sort her wardrobe, that now looked like it had had a small tornado empty its contents on the floor.

"Ginny Weasley, really? You really think you are getting off with a story about Quidditch gear? You got new Quidditch armour in the post months ago! And you were so excited to show all of us that you basically put it on in the great hall at breakfast! I know you haven't just lost a piece of that" Dean rolled his eyes and got up casually to lean again the wardrobe, as Ginny finished packing it away "Gin, what's going on?"

"Dean honestly you are barking up the wrong tree, It's not a boy, it's nothing to do with a boy at all" Ginny said casually, she wasn't lying at least.

"Then what is it Gin? Are you and the other three up to something?" Dean said a little more seriously.

"No, no it's not that Dean, you don't need to worry like that" Ginny said now laying out the outfit she was so desperately searching for to wear to slug Club.

"Where are _you_ going then?" Dean questioned looking at the more formal clothes.

"Oh, well I have that ruddy Slug Club tonight, and you know" Ginny gestured to her casual clothes "This doesn't cut it"

"Hmm not buying it Ginny, Harry's going to be there right? If I had to guess I would say your little scene just now may have been brought on by him?" Dean wiggled his eyebrows at Ginny.

"Harry and I haven't been after each other for months now Dean you know that" Ginny chided.

"Someone else then? I can't image who though, all the other boys in Slug Club are kind of prats Ginny" Dean mocked.

"Dean, drop it, haven't you got study to do? I thought you said I interrupted you?" Ginny stood facing Dean tapping her foot impatiently, she was already late "And how did you get up here past the slide anyway?"

"I've got all night Gin, plus, your situation is far more compelling right now and it's only a slide Gin, nothing a floating charm can't get around" Dean smiled a cheeky smile and Ginny gave him a slight shove.

"Well I Don't have all night! So you should think about shoving off before I have to call McGonagall!" Ginny threatened but soon broke into a smile.

Dean sighed and took a more serious tone with his friend, he knew something was up and he thought he was on the verge of finding out "Gin, if you need to talk?"

"I know, I know" Ginny said impatiently. Something told Ginny she really should get this off her chest, but what to tell? She didn't really know, Ginny took a more level tone with her friend "I know Dean, and thank you for asking, I really do appreciate it, but honestly, I'm fine"

The Weasley didn't buckle. Dean stood and gave Ginny a pat on the back as he walked towards the door "Alright mate. I'm going to shove off like you said, but you know where to find me"

With that Dean walked out casually and Ginny slumped on the bed. She really didn't know where to start; even if she wanted to talk to Dean about Hermione what would she say? Where would she begin? She didn't really know how she was feeling about Hermione or how seriously she should be taking the whole thing. She knew that things were changing, at least on her on own part, but could it just be a momentary thing? She honestly didn't know.

Looking at her watch she got herself up 'urgh, now I'm really late' she thought and with that Ginny threw on her clothes and headed for the door a little less casually than Dean did moments earlier.

* * *

Hermione and Harry were sitting side by side at Slughorns' table as Ginny Quietly slipped through the door. Ginny Caught Hermione's eye but quickly dropped her gaze. Her mind had been going around and around in a circle with thoughts of Hermione on the way over to Slug Club and seeing Hermione just reaffirmed a lot of what Ginny was contemplating. 'She is so beautiful she thought to herself, and even more so when she's engrossed in an explanation, as Ginny sat down she could overhear Hermione talking about the fact that her parents were dentists in the muggle world to the rest of the table.

For the rest of Slug Club Ginny sat watching and listening to the conversation around her, nodding and smiling to the group while her mind wandered with thoughts of the older witch.

"A superb flyer at that wouldn't you say Miss Weasley?" Slughorn bellowed Ginny's way with an encouraging smile.

"Oh ah, yea, yeah" Ginny stumbled coyly looking around at the table to get some hint of who Slughorn was referring too.

"Not as good as Ginny though" Harry pipped up, clearly very proud of his own Gryffindor chaser.

"Oh, I wouldn't go that far Harry" Ginny mumbled as she turned a similar shade to her fiery red hair.

"I would" Hermione added casually, gaining the attention of the entire table "Gryffindor is lucky to have your talent Gin"

"Here, here Miss Granger, well put" Slughorn raised his glass, encouraging the rest of the table to follow suit "To Ginny, a promising young talent"

"To Ginny" The rest of the table chimed and raised their glasses, Ginny was turning a deep shade of red at the sudden spotlight shining brightly on her, she was lost for words and acted fast to side step the attention.

"Thanks everyone" Ginny added coyly "But from what I hear the ministry will be lucky to have you in a few years Hermione" and with that Slughorn was off on a tangent quizzing Hermione about her work on S.P.E.W and where she thought it would lead her into the ministry.

Soon after the ice-cream was polished off and Slughorn was bidding the last of the club goodbye "Ah Miss Weasley and Miss Granger, thank you for attending our first little club gathering" Slughorn said as he drew them in, putting an arm around both of them "It was a pleasure" he released the girls from his hold as quickly as he pulled them in.

"Thank you professor, it was all so lovely" Hermione expressed as she and Ginny headed for the door.

"How many of these are we going to have to show our faces at?" Ginny sighed as the girls wandered down the hall back to the common room.

"Gin, it wasn't that bad, and more to the point, everyone seemed to be celebrating you tonight" Hermione teased.

" 'Mione you know I don't like all that attention, besides, I might not be on the Gryffindor Team if my grades don't improve!" Ginny said softly, realising the situation she just got herself into.

"What do you mean Gin? Are you struggling?" Hermione questioned as she tugged on Ginny's sleeve, and in turn Ginny felt a slight heat in her cheeks from the older girls touch.

"Oh, no 'Mione, really I'm doing fine, I probably should be spending a little more time in the library and not so much on the pitch, that's all" Ginny said playing down her initial comment.

"Really?" Hermione questioned with a slight smile on her face "Well then, answer me this; what are the ingredients for a Draught of Peace? You should be brewing that quite soon if not already. On second thought just name three"

"Alright" Ginny announced stepping up to the challenge "One is moonstone" Ginny nodded at Hermione feeling proud of herself "Another is, uh, Unicorn hair"

"Gin, it's Unicorn horn" Hermione Chuckled "I'm going to help you with your studies"

"Hermione, it's fine, and besides half the others in my year couldn't even name one if you asked them" Ginny reasoned.

"If I had that view, do you think I would study as much as I do?" Hermione chided, "You want to be great at Quidditch Gin, but you need something else to fall back on. I'm not saying you won't make it to a professional level, you just need to think down the track"

"Pixie puffs" Hermione whispered to the fat lady as the portrait swung open and the girls entered their common room.

"I know, I know. But Hermione I don't want to take up your time" Ginny explained hoping Hermione would drop the subject "I'll be fine honestly"

"Gin, you know I'm not taking that for an answer, Where is your timetable for your classes?" Hermione requested.

"Ah it's upstairs," Ginny pulled her wand from her back pocket "Accio timetable" she commanded, and as she did a small white folded piece of parchment fluttered down the stairs towards the two girls.

Hermione took out her wand and flicked it towards the paper now resting in Ginny's hand to cast a charm.

"Geminio" Hermione said softly.

As the two watched, the piece of paper began to unfold in Ginny's hand, peeling itself open fold by fold. As it reached its flat form it opened again once more and a perfect copy of the parchment tore itself carefully away from the original. Hermione carefully retrieved the new timetable which was floating, and started to jot down a few notes on her own copy. Once she was done she explained her thoughts to Ginny "We can study together in these spare lessons as I have these off too, they are in blue, the rest in green are for you to study in by yourself, and that means no Quidditch"

"You really are wonderful 'Mione" Ginny couldn't help but compliment the older girl. It was one of the things that Ginny loved so much about Hermione; her ingenuity was second to none.

"I'm just logical really, nothing to special about thinking in a reasonable fashion" Hermione said simply.

"Well, I think you are still wonderful regardless of your logic, and thank you for wanting to help me with my study" Ginny conceded giving the brunette a warm smile.

Hermione pulled the younger witch into a hug squeezing her tight. Immediately Ginny began to blush, feeling Hermione's body pressed against hers was proving to be more pleasant than it had ever been.

'This is exactly why I was trying to avoid study' Ginny thought to herself, it was one thing to spend time with Hermione when Harry and Ron were around, which generally was the case at Hogwarts. But time alone with Hermione would mean a lot more attention on Ginny and more than likely not just about her progress with her studies. Hermione had the habit of asking Ginny a lot of direct questions when they were alone; it is just the older witch's nature. And why wouldn't she? Ginny and Hermione were best friends; it never proved to be an issue, but Ginny never felt, well, whatever she was feeling. She would just have to do her best to keep it strictly study.

Hermione released Ginny from her hug but kept her arms on the younger witches shoulders "I'm proud of you Gin, Ron would never let me help him study and I'm so happy that you genuinely want to continue to improve your grades"

"Well, Ron's an Oaf, and I didn't have much of a choice in the matter with you on the case" Ginny teased as she started to make her way towards the stairs "thanks Hermione, I really appreciate it"

"I'm excited to start" Hermione bounced a little as she headed up the stairs "Night Gin" she threw a smile Ginny's way and turned the corner to her dorm.

* * *

Hi All thank you for reading so far! Sorry this chapter is a little slow but it is all for a reason!

Thank you to Monkgirl, McGruff, FalconLux and Randy87M for the lovely comments! Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter!


	3. Chapter 3 - The Room

**I do not own J.K Rowling's wonderful Characters**

* * *

Hermione rounded the corner to the library, she had decided to arrive slightly earlier than Ginny to get a start on a few of her own assignments, but little did the brunette know today she would have no such luck.

"'Mione" Ginny chimed in as she watched the older Witch traipse right past toward her favorite spot in the library. Hermione jumped a little, she really didn't expect Ginny to be early, it wasn't quite in the Weasley blood to be on time.

"Gin, I didn't think you would be here already!" Hermione said excitedly as she turned on one heel and paced back towards her friend. She eyed the stack of books Ginny had already started collecting, "Saving time Gin? I try to get all my references out at the start of a session too" Hermione explained almost getting carried away.

Ginny cut her off "ah, not exactly, I thought that well, maybe we could study by the lake today"

Hermione's smiled faded slightly and Ginny broke into a small laugh, she could see the older witch trying to reason with the idea but it wasn't proving successful "oh" Hermione said "Well, I guess we could but the Libra..."

"Mione, sometimes you are so predictable" Ginny laughed "For someone with your brain you really don't understand spontaneity, No it's not logical, but I thought it might be nice, its a perfect day outside"

"Hmmm, well, you are right it's not logical really, there is a whole library in here, but if you think it could help you study slightly better, I suppose we could venture out" Hermione nodded slightly and finally gave in to the younger girl "It's fine, I'm sure we can work it out"

Ginny smiled "We could take an extra stack of books with us as well as spare parchment, just in case we decide to continue on, past charms"

"Really, do you want me to grab" Hermione started but Ginny once again cut her off.

"'Mione I was joking, we are sticking to the schedule of one subject per session. Of course I don't want to study more than I have to" with that Ginny tugged on Hermione's robe and lead her to the door "come on, I'll never get you out of here otherwise"

* * *

The two girls followed the partly cobbled path down to the Great lake, it was a clear day and slightly unseasonal, but neither were complaining. The grounds were full of students all with the same idea of getting out and about in the fleeting weather "I'm so glad you suggested this Gin, I have been studying so much, I really honestly have forgotten to leave the castle for more than a few minutes at a time" Hermione smiled at the younger witch, her eyes sincere.

"What can I say, I'm not just a pretty face" Ginny joked.

"I agree with you there Gin" Hermione concurred "Though if you keep leading us out and away from the library your pretty face may be all you have to work with"

"Should have seen that one coming" Ginny replied as the girls approached the lake and sat under Ginny's favorite tree.

"What should we start with?" Ginny asked, trying to sound somewhat excited about spending such a glorious day with a bunch of books. There was one positive though, she did get to sit with Hermione without Harry and Ron hanging about.

"Well I thought we could start with Transfiguration and specifically the 'Inanimatus Conjurus Spell'" Hermione said simply.

"Just easing me into it I see Hermione" Ginny said sarcastically.

"I'm not going to make you perform it Gin" Hermione handed Ginny an open chapter "Read through this, it's a scenario clearly, but part of it is dreadfully wrong, you just need to identify the main error and then how you would correct it or avoid it"

"Alright" Ginny agreed setting her mind to work.

A little while later Hermione broke the silence "So what do you think Gin? I didn't want to rush you, it is a little perplexing"

"Huh oh, sorry 'Mione, I was just thinking about the lake" Ginny said sounding a little dazed.

"Gin" Hermione sighed sounding slightly frustrated "This is why libraries are places of study, and Great Lakes are places for getting lost in your own thoughts" The older girl couldn't help but blush a little as her words fell out of her mouth.

"Who is helping you get lost in thought Miss Granger?" Ginny couldn't help herself; Hermione was always leaving herself open to this kind of mocking.

"No one Gin, now answer me" Hermione chided.

"I heard that the Merpeople were pretty vicious to you, during the Triwizard Cup" Ginny stated getting lost deeper in the lake "It must have been pretty intense being down there, I think about that a lot, about you being stuck with noway out, and I trust Harry and all but.."

"I wasn't conscious Gin and besides Dumbledore wouldn't have placed us down there unless he thought it would be OK in the end" Hermione reasoned.

"I dunno 'Mione, I don't think Dumbledore is always about doing things with safety as priority" Ginny explained a look of amusement crossed the redhead's face.

"Hmm, point taken" The brunette agreed, the youngest Weasley had a point, and Hermione had been feeling it more and more as the year wore on.

"You know I also heard that you and Vi.." Ginny started.

"Gin, enough, you are so far off track it's not funny" Hermione's voice slightly strained under the weight of her statement "Can you please give me your thoughts on your chapter?"

"Oh yeah, right well, the spell should have been cast to take into account the life like properties that the petrified wood once had, I assume the spell was cast to intensely hence why the wood exploded instead of springing to life as a wooden doll" Ginny stated a little sheepishly.

"Exactly" Hermione was pleasantly surprised "You are exactly right Gin, well done, that even took Harry a few goes to understand"

"Must be my logic" Ginny mocked giving Hermione a slight nudge.

"Possibly, well more than likely yes Gin, that's great though, maybe you won't need as much time with me as I first thought" Hermione said confidently.

"Oh, well I don't know 'Mione, I could have just been lucky, who knows? I don't want to run the risk of now passing though" Ginny was quick to add. The truth was Ginny didn't want to miss out on any extra time with Hermione, even if it was to study, even if it was just books, she loved Hermione being so attentive towards her.

"Should we move on?" Hermione Asked.

"Sure" Ginny agreed. For the moment she was happy.

* * *

Ginny climbed the stairs of the Astronomy tower, as she reached the final few steps the cool night air found her face and she took in the smell of the Forbidden Forrest drifting through the grounds. The Redhead had made it a habit of wandering to the astronomy tower lately and with all the study her and Hermione were doing, it was a welcome moment of recluse for the witch. She found clarity in the quiet night sky. Ginny often spent hours up there thinking the time away, she would take her own books, not the ones for class, but the ones about the great Quidditch players before her. But more often than not the youngest Weasley would take her broom up and take flight late at night, pacing around the night sky flying high towards the stars. She would slink back through the castle around midnight after most visits, avoiding the main corridors, and with the help of Harry's invisibility cloak, the redhead was able to journey back to her dorm without being spotted. Ginny hadn't let on to Harry too much of where she was going and Harry had no qualms in letting Ginny take the cloak, as long as she didn't lose it of course.

She had accustomed herself to Filtches general rounds and tonight being a Wednesday, she knew he took a more direct route to the Gryffindor common room. She glanced down over the railing of the tower and spotted Filtch entering through the main doors below, and so Ginny began her lengthy walk around the deserted corridors back to the warmth of her bed.

* * *

As Ginny passed along her route she rounded a corner and headed down the seventh floor corridor, as she approached the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy and the Ballerina Trolls she could hear a faint grinding sound coming from beside her and in that moment she instantly realised where she was and what the castle had just started to revealed to her. She quickly paced the length of the hall around her, checking to see if any unneeded attention was lurking, nothing though, not even a ghost or Nearly Headless Nick for that matter. As she stopped back in front of the tapestry she watched two large doors carve themselves into the castle wall and Ginny knowingly approached the room of requirement.

As the Redhead entered through the study doors, she allowed the invisibility cloak to drop by her side and she took her time to wander to the centre of the room taking in the significance of its décor. It had been filled with candles just floating mid air, much like the great hall on a few occasions. Ginny could see piles of books scattered throughout the room and upon inspection realised they were all great novels with romantic significance, many purely poetry. Ginny could also see scattered among the candles above her a few bluebell flames that floated in jars. As she approached the centre of the room she could see a single, beautifully crafted, wooden desk shining and reflecting the candle light around her. The writing desk was heavy and sturdy and emulated a 19th century style piece and she could see on each leg that an otter had been carved out and out stretched as if it were swimming towards the top of the desk supporting the huge slab of mahogany.

Ginny inspected a few objects placed on the desk further, picking up a beautiful quill complete with a full pot of ink. The quill was white with a few details carved into the length of it and if Ginny wasn't mistaken it look striking similar to Hermione's wand. Ginny looked further at the desk and found a single stack of parchment embellished simply with gold leaf details. Also on the table lay a small wax stick complete with a small wax pouring pitcher and wax seal stamp with a single 'H' engraved into it.

Ginny knew what she had to do or at least what the room was asking. A little nervously she drew out the desk's matching chair, and sat down on the cream and gold cushioned seat. She pulled the parchment towards her and picked up the quill carful to tap any extra ink from its nib, and with that all the words Ginny had ever wanted to write to Hermione escaped her. She had everything she needed, the most beautiful of rooms, the most perfect of parchment and yet no words would flow, no heartfelt confessions would come.

Ginny sighed; she placed the quill back into its pot of ink. She had no idea what to do. Knowing she really couldn't leave the room until her task was fulfilled she slowly stood and decided to abide by the rooms request and steadily walked towards a small pile of books perched against one of the stone pillars in the room. She pulled out a small copy of 'Shakespeare's Sonnets', it was worn on all four corners and on the inside possessed a small note scrawled in black ink "To my one and only, all the words, all my love". Ginny opened the book hoping it would give her the answer to her pressing problem, but alas it did not. It did however confuse her greatly with lines like "A mind of Dian's this advantage found" and "Describe Adonis, and the counterfeit". Ginny never really understood all of the musing's in Shakespeare, old English was a challenge at the best of times and right now wasn't really the best of times.

She placed Shakespear down and began to look further at the other novels; there lay the stories of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, Paris and Helena, Napoleon and Josephine, Romeo and Juliet, Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy, even Pocahontas and John Smith. Ginny pondered on the titles printed along the worn and thoroughly read books. She was familiar with most of them and as she thought on the stories, it became further apparent that there was a lot of tragedy in these tales. She thought though, that in most, love conquered, love prevailed, love forgave, love just, well, loved.

In _that_ very moment Ginny understood. She knew what the room was trying to explaining to her. "Hogwarts" she whispered to herself "What a truly astonishing place". As Ginny stood she couldn't help but stumble a little due to the pace that she raised to her feet at, she was now a young woman on a mission. As the redhead strode back towards her newly found desk, thoughts were tumbling from her conscious; she was finding her voice in droves. Ginny picked up the quill and began scribbling feverishly, 'I can re-write it' Ginny thought, 'I just need to get it out'.

The time followed Ginny rapidly and before she knew it she had be scrawling away for at least half an hour scribbling and correcting, starting over and over again. it wasn't as perfect as Juliet's explanation of a Rose smelling as sweet, but it was at least from Ginny's heart. As she neared the last of her words on what she felt was the final letter, she heard a small chime from the other end of the room of requirement, she looked up momentarily noting that it was 1am, but continued, as she signed her name G x. She looked to the letter and began to read from the top

_Hermione,_

_Where to start, this of course is unexpected for me and so I'm not quite sure how far to take it. I'm surrounded by so many beautiful novels right now, full of so many courageous people, loving against the odds, defying what they thought was their path and eventually finding their way to their fate._

_Maybe part of me, is thinking I have found my own path to my own fate. Even in Hogwarts with all the magic trapped in these walls the coincidence and the lengths of the events I have experienced tonight are uncanny. Traditionally I don't believe that fate is so finite and sealed, but I may believe just a little tonight that it could be._

_As typical and cliche as it sounds, it has taken me this long to finally see exactly who has been standing in front of me, this whole time. I adore you Hermione, your wonderful mind, your kindness, your selflessness and sometimes even your more critical words. Above all though, I love how oblivious you are to all your natural charisma and beauty. I'm not going to write you a poem, I'm not even entirely sure if this is a love letter. What I am sure of is that someone or something is telling me that you should know. I'm not really sure where I want this letter to lead, but something has told me to just start and so I have._

_Thinking of you more each day,_

_G x_

As Ginny got to the bottom her eyes flicked back to the top of the parchment one more time, 'Not bad' she thought 'Not great either, but it is a start'. But she had spoken too soon. In one moment Ginny's heart began to sink, her words, all her beautiful words started to fade before her.

Ginny had experienced this before with a certain diary, and she couldn't help but feel a small lurch in her stomach "Aparecium" she hissed as she flicked her wand, a hint of dread showing in her voice. Nothing, not a single word reappeared.

The youngest Weasley stood; searching the room for an answer, surely there had to be some explanation for this. Ginny faintly knew that it wasn't a repeat of Tom Riddle's Diary it was all too sweet, but she did know that it was extremely strange and potentially very revealing. What's more, she had no idea where her letter was now if anywhere at all.

Hi all thank you so much for reading this far along! I hope you are enjoying the idea of the story and where it could be building to.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Lake

**I don't own any of the Characters, It is all the wonderful J.K Rowling's work.**

* * *

"Ronald, honestly how are you ever going to fend for yourself in the real world" Hermione scalded, as she tried to retrieve her parchment from Ron's view.

"Oh, c'mon Hermione, just let me have a look at the last of yours, It'll do the next one by myself i promise, I just got a bit stuck towards the end, Charms is hard this year especially when it comes to turning vinegar into wine" Ron Huffed "Who even has a use for that? you just need to remember to buy wine not vinegar"

"Ron, as usual you are missing the point, it's not about buying wine or even having wine to drink, it's about the charm" Hermione concluded "_More_ to the point though, it could technically be called a transfiguration spell due to the fact that you don't technically add anything to the vinegar. None the less it's still homework and if you had actually studied instead of chasing girls around on your broom Ronald _maybe _you would know the difference"

Ron sat wordless staring at his parchment; as usual, he had been put in his place by Hermione and he needed it, he had been chasing too many girls around on his broom. Harry on the other hand had his nose buried in his well worn copy of his potions book that belonged to the Half Blood Prince.

"Harry, Honestly, I really wish you would give that in, it's dangerous" Hermione explained lowering her voice which now had a more serious tone to it.

"Hermione it's fine, I found it for a reason" Harry said, brushing off Hermione's comment "And If you'll both excuse me I'm going to catch up on my studies in a little more peace and quiet" With that Harry started to gather his bag and book.

"Can I come?" Ron asked pre-empting Harry's answer also gathering up his things from the table.

"You probably should Ron, Leave Hermione in peace" Harry mocked and threw a smirk Hermione's way, she caught his eye and smiled back, Harry always knew when it was time to leave her to her thoughts.

As the two left Hermione also decided to leave, it was another unusually sunny day and although Hermione was on top of her study she thought it might be nice to wander outside and down to the lake where Ginny and her had been studying the last few times, to read over a few extra chapters Flitwick had set them for charms. She set off out of the common room and the castle.

* * *

As Hermione neared the edge of the lake she could see a light breeze blowing through the forbidden Forrest and a small flock of birds flying low across the water. Every time Ginny insisted on studying by the lake Hermione thanked her upon arrival and today was no different. As much as the Brunette was thoroughly absorbed with her study and her books she did love marvelling at nature and the sheer abundance of it at Hogwarts made it very hard not to appreciate the beautiful landscape.

She continued along the lakes edge until she found herself under Ginny's favourite tree. She sat and learned against its sturdy trunk. It was an enormous tree and Hermione always felt safe sitting below its outstretched branches. Even in the winter months, it offered some amount of warmth and shelter, Hermione felt lucky though that it wasn't quite that cold yet. She pulled out her charms reference and opened to the chapter that Flitwick had requested they read. 'It's a short one' Hermione thought to herself 'I'll be done in no time and I'll head back to the castle and try to catch Gin'

As Hermione read through she could hear a few soft waves pushing their way onto the shore, stones rolling against each other and away as the waves retreated. The brunette glanced up from her book, and as she did she could see the waves growing slightly bigger and rushing more swiftly away from her leaving a few pieces of debris on the shoreline. She looked hard at one particular piece of drift wood as it seemed to be shinning extra bright in the sun. She focussed her eyes on the object but she soon realised that it wasn't a piece of drift wood at all.

The Brunette rose to her feet and began to walk towards the unusual object, as she reached the water she was surprised to find a small leather bound book with an 'H' carved right into the cover. The book appeared to be wet to the touch from rolling around in the water, but as Hermione picked it up any trace of water disappeared, drying instantly in her hand. She couldn't believe her eyes; she looked around curiously surveying the landscape for an answer. Surely a book this beautiful would have to have been someone's journal, someone's most loved possession? There was no sign of anyone though. She took another look at the beautiful book, Hermione could tell it was handmade, it had all the touches of a proper hand bound book, it was oversewn along the spine and the cover was attached perfectly. 'I really shouldn't open it' she thought to herself. Hermione was never one to pry but unfortunately if she wanted to return the book to its owner she would need some suggestion of whom it belonged to and with nothing on the front nor the back, she began to flick though the pages to find a trace of ownership.

"Amazing" she whispered to herself, although the book had been bathing in the great lake moments earlier, the pages were now bone dry, not a trace of moisture on them. Hermione continued to thumb through the pages, she could feel the parchment under her touch and she knew it was a special kind, like nothing she had seen or written on before, and that was saying a lot, Hermione knew a thing or two about parchment. It was all very odd, there was not a single note within the book, no name or date on the inside cover, nothing. She knew that it would be important to someone and thought it would be best to take it with her and ask around over the next few days.

The studious witch gathered up her things, including her newly found book and headed back towards the castle. If she spotted anyone on the way she would stop and ask them if they had misplaced their book or journal, surely a book with an 'H' on the cover belonged to someone especially if they hadn't bothered to write in it yet.

* * *

She continued along the path past Hargid's hut and she glanced through the window but she couldn't see any sign of the bushy man. 'It could be Hargids' she thought to herself and she made a mental note to ask him the next time they crossed paths. As she continued along up towards the castle she passed no one, not even a Quidditch player on their way to the pitch, 'odd' Hermione thought to herself, it was such a beautiful afternoon and nobody was really around. As she neared the castle though she could hear the bustle of the other students and in that moment she realised how tedious her task would be if she was to ask even half of the school if they had lost a book. Hermione being Hermione she decided on a more logical method and thought it might be better to paste a few posters up around the school, and decided on creating a few. As she was heading back toward the Gryffindor common room, she almost ran right into Ginny.

"Hermione, Hi! I was about to come looking for you!" Ginny said "Don't we have study this afternoon?"

"Oh Gin I forgot all about it for a moment!" Hermione said with disappointment in her voice "I'm so sorry, I've had a slightly strange afternoon"

"Not like you to forget study 'Mione, it must have been strange then. Is everything alright? Harry's not in trouble is he?" Ginny questioned stepping closer to the brunette just in case Hermione needed to disclose something important to her.

"No Gin, nothing like that, there is no need to worry about Harry. I was actually down near the lake doing a bit of reading, and while I was down there this washed up on the shore" Hermione held out the book to show Ginny and extended it out further for the younger witch to grab a hold of.

"Really? It just washed up" Ginny asked as she took the book out of Hermione's hands. As sheheld the book a small amount of panic rushed through Ginny's chest "Wha, what's, um, well do you know who it belongs to?" she composed herself finally getting the words out.

"Uh well there is this beautiful 'H' on the front obviously, so it would suggest that this is significant to the owner, maybe an initial" Hermione stated no looking at all bothered by the book "There isn't any trace of writing inside of it though, not even a scribble or a name on the inside"

Ginny was relived, she took a breath and spoke "Hmm, that is odd. It is a truly beautiful book though isn't it?"

"Indeed!" Hermione pipped up "You can tell it's hand made by the stitching along the spine, it's called long stitch and was used typically on parchment covered books with reinforced spines between 1375 and 1500" Hermione trailed off, she realised Ginny was glazing over slightly.

"Is there anything that you don't know Hermione Granger?" Ginny teased

"Sorry, that was a bit boring wasn't it? Interesting to note the age of the book though" Hermione stated

"No, no not boring at all" Ginny assured the older witch "I was just amazed by what you were explaining. That is a very old book and for it to be in tact the way it is, I would say it may contain magic" Ginny wondered

"Yes it is a good point Gin, it leads me to believe it is definitely magical, it _was_ in the Great Lake after all. For it to either survive in the lake or survive as long as it has intact it would need some amount of magic" Hermione explained

The two stood looking at the book for a moment. Hermione clearly was none the wiser. Ginny on the other hand was absolutely teeming with ideas and her brain was processing them all at 1000 miles an hour. She knew _exactly_ what the book was, and she knew _exactly_ why it had found its way into Hermione Grangers possession. The question on _her_ mind however was why did the book still have blank pages? Surely her letter should have appeared by now if it was what she thought it was.

"I owe you a study session" Hermione finally spoke breaking Ginny's thoughts "We can worry about the book later. I was thinking of putting a few posters up to see if anyone claims it anyway"

"Good idea Hermione" Ginny said eyes still locked with the beautiful book she knew no one would be claiming this book though, this now belonged to the witch who found it "Accio book bag" Ginny flicked her wand but was still fixated on the book

Moments later Ginny's book bag floated down from the stairs towards the girls. Ginny seized it from mid air and slung the pack over her shoulder.

"Nicely done Ginny, you clearly have been practicing" Hermione said with a touch of cheek

"A little bit" The red head's cheeks glowed to match her mane and she smiled softly at Hermione "Alright let go" With Ginny's command the two headed back down towards the lake. She didn't know what to do now, but one thing was for certain she needed to keep a close eye on that book and now more importantly Hermione. She really didn't know how it would all come about but if the letter decided to show itself she was sure Hermione would have 1001 questions for the red head and she needed to be prepared.

Hi All, thanks so much for reading through another chapter. I know it may be still feeling a little slow but I plan on making this a fairly long story so I am making the most of my details :)

Shoutouts: Thank you to MonkGirl, Randy, Music is my hermione, Irish mouse and The reviewer for your positive comments. It really does mean a lot when you guys take the time to write even if its just a few words! So thank you all so much!


	5. Chapter 5 - The Book

As Always these are not my characters, thank you JKR.

* * *

"And Gryffindor scores!" Lee Jordan's voice bellowed across the pitch as the crowd roared for the goal "Ginny Weasley is certainly on a roll today! Not to mention the whole team is flying the best I have seen this season"

"Nice shot Gin!" Demelza called as Ginny flew past on her broom.

The red head gave her a nod and continued to circle the pitch, keeping an eye out for Harry and the snitch, no sign of either though. Ginny thought it would be best for Gryffindor to continue to try and take a further lead while they were on a roll and not rely on the snitch.

Ginny shot another look around the pitch, this time looking for Katie Bell "Katie!" Ginny called across the pitch catching her fellow players attention, immediately Katie deviated from her path and made her way towards the Youngest Weasley.

"Gin, you ready then?" Katie asked looking about nervous but still a touch excited

"Yeah I think now is a good time, Ravenclaw's Defence is sluggish at the moment and I think we can put a few more goals away and pull out in front with a strong lead" As she spoke a bludger narrowly missed Katie's head and the two shot up above the pitch.

"Whoa!" Katie yelled "Maybe not as sluggish as we thought!"

"Lucky shot I think! Alright where is Demelza?" Ginny questioned, but within a few seconds she could see Demelza rocketing in towards them, she could see the girls were ready.

"Ready?" Ginny called towards Demelza as she flew in to meet them both.

"Yep! Let's go" Demelza replied tailing the other two who had already started to head towards the goals.

Ginny was hunting for the Quaffle and spotted in the hands of Ravenclaw, she could see a pair of their chasers heading towards the goal posts. She was now eyeing off the Gryffindor beater who sent a hefty bludger rocketing at the Ravenclaw chaser who was holding tight to the Quaffle. As Ginny predicted the chaser off loaded the Quaffle to his teammate, the high lob soaring slowly through the air between the two. This was a perfect pass for Ginny to dive in and intercept, the red head took off with haste and seized the Quaffle, continuing on towards the goals. She scanned the pitch and as she had hoped the beaters from Ravenclaw were suddenly giving chase, Ginny slowed and as she did she was flanked by the chasers.

"Weasley's got herself in quite a jam here" Lee Jordan bellowed excitedly "Can she get herself out of this one?" The crowd roared again, encouraging the red head and the rest of the team.

Ginny had is all under control though and as the chasers were occupied with steering her away from the posts Ginny let the Quaffle fall toward the ground.

"Weasley has dropped the Quaffle! I don't think I've ever seen Gin- Oh Wait! Katie Bell is right there to grab it and Carry on" Lee Jordan bellowed, taking the crowd along for the ride.

But as fast as Katie had taken the Quaffle it was released again, this time off to the left, and sure enough Demelza was there to scoop it up. The three girls had Ravenclaw in a spin, if there was one thing they were all fantastic at it was passing between themselves and not missing a beat, well almost.

Demelza knew she had the most pivotal pass to finish off the play, to quick and she would miss her pass back to Katie, to slow and it would surely be intercepted. 'Here goes' she thought and released the Quaffle but as she had feared it fell a little too slowly to the ground, as she looked back she could see a Ravenclaw hurtling towards the Quaffle stealing it out of mid air, "Argh!" Demelza grumbled as dropped her head and shut her eyes tight, she just gave the Quaffle away 'Merlin' she thought. A moment later though she could hear the crowd roar!

"Quick thinking on Gryffindor's part! Ravenclaw will definitely have a headache after that bludger" Lee Jordan explained, trying not to laugh at the bulger that was sent tearing back toward the chaser and the Quaffle was knocked clean, it shot up just enough for Katie to continue through and she gracefully pulled it from mid air.

"Yeah!" Demelza cheered and got back into the game following both Katie and Ginny just in case she wasn't the only one in error today.

There wasn't too much else for her to do through, Ginny and Katie were blazing down the pitch, and with a flick of the Quaffle from Katie right at the last minute Ginny was able to scoop in behind her and seize the Quaffle building speed back into the play. Ginny didn't have far to go and she covered the pitch with ease finishing the play and scoring the last goal of the match, as fate would have it Harry had done his job .

"Potter has caught the Snitch! Gryffindor wins the match!" Lee was celebrating, jumping to his feet and throwing his fist into the air, for a commentator he was a little bias towards his own house.

Ginny looked around, the crowd was roaring and she could see that most eyes were on Harry, his team following along congratulating him and patting him on the back. Harry however was making his way toward Ginny.

"Amazing play mate, I caught the end of it, If I hadn't been looking in your direction I wouldn't have seen the snitch, thanks Gin!" Harry gave her a slight nudge in the ribs and flew off to circle the pitch again. Ginny smiled to herself, at least Harry was always humble about a win.

She continued to fly around the pitch, taking in the noise of the crowd and the seas of Red and yellow scarves and flags now flying high above the students heads, as she approached the main Gryffindor stand she could see the faces cheering and clapping for Harry, a few of the younger 3rdyears looking like the might explode at any moment with excitement, Ginny giggled to herself thinking back to herself in third year and feeling a little the same about Harry.

She was looking over the crowd still cheering madly and fell on a familiar smile. Hermione was staring straight at the younger girl with a huge smile on her face her hands clapping enthusiastically. Ginny actually looked around behind her, convinced the Brunette was looking past her to someone else, but there wasn't anyone else near Ginny and Harry was now at the other end of the Pitch. The older witch gestured for Ginny to fly over, and Ginny quickly obliged, her heart skipping a little.

'Gin! You did wonderfully!" Hermione said her voice breaking slightly with her excitement, she threw her arms around the red head and Ginny Quickly grabbed tight to her broom.

"Careful Hermione I'm not tied to this thing" Ginny teased and Hermione let her go but kept aone hand resting on her shoulder.

"You did so well Ginny! Keep playing like that and you will surely have a few scouts at your games in no time" Hermione said a little eagerly

"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves Hermione, but I appreciate you kinds words" Ginny smiled and for a moment the girls locked eyes both lost in the moment. Ginny was very aware of Hermione's hand still resting on her arm, but she did not want to move, she didn't want to break Hermione's gaze or the feeling of her touch.

"Well, I, uh, I should let you get back to the change rooms" Hermione said with a slight stutter, clearly confirming she had been as lost in the moment as Ginny.

"Uh yeah, thanks, I'm sure Harry will have a few things to run us through from the match. I'll meet you in the common room after though ok" Ginny assured the older witch.

"Sure Gin" Hermione agreed and waved at the red head now trailing off on her broom.

"Quite a lovely girl, isn't she?" Luna's airy voice gave Hermione the fright of her life; she really didn't think that moment had been seen or felt by anyone but her and Ginny.

"Merlin Luna! You scared the day lights from me!" Hermione said tightening up a little at Luna's comment "Of course Ginny is a lovely girl, whatever do you mean?"

"Oh nothing really, she just played a super game I think and she sure was happy to see you after the match" Luna explained with a smile as she rose to her feet "I'll see you later Hermione"

"Oh yes, right, bye Luna" Hermione knew there was more behind it than that, this was Luna, there was always something more to it.

Hermione never really understood Luna, and at times struggled with their friendship. She has a confidence and an assurance in things that Hermione didn't always understand, and in a way Hermione was envious of the blond witch. Hermione was highly logical and at times Luna's beliefs and theory's about certain happenings in the Wizarding world just plain got to Hermione. Intuition was a very rare thing and most of the time Hermione didn't know how to trust hers, mainly due to the lack of supporting facts, but Luna seemed to have full faith in hers. Alas that is what makes intuition, intuition your belief is fundamental to it working. Maybe she did have a thing or two to learn off Luna.

* * *

Before Hermione returned to the Gryffindor common room she did her daily check of the "found" posters she has placed about the grounds for the lost book in the Great Lake. The Brunette had enchanted them to reveal the name of any student who correctly described the book, all they were required to do was jot down a description of the book on a few lines Hermione had enchanted added to the poster. If the description fit the book correctly it would keep the students details and once Hermione requested, the information would reveal itself. Hermione combined a few spells and potions to make one, very logical solution, "_Aparecium"_ she whispered as she flicked her wand toward the poster, it's image of the great lake shimmering under the nights sky, but nothing. Hermione wondered if she added a little too much Veritaserum to the posters. 'I'll reprint them later' she thought to herself. She started off towards the common room; she didn't want to miss Harry or Ginny arriving.

She had missed them arriving however, she could hear the cheers from the common room already and she was only just approaching the fat lady, "Password" the fat lady commanded as Hermione Approached.

"Triumph" Hermione said, a timely password is they had ever had one.

As the portrait swung open she was hit with the wall of noise that was previously being held back by the painting, she was welcomed by Neville who was clearly as excited about the win as any of the Gryffindor team, "Hermione" he bellowed her way, "where've you been! Lucky you didn't miss the party"

"Of course not Neville" Hermione yelled a little louder, raising her voice over the excitement "It was a fantastic match don't you agree? Oh and have you seen Gin?"

"Ah, yeah! I did see her over there with Katie and Demelza, maybe keep an eye on her Hermione, I think Fred and George managed to smuggle her some fire whisky after the game!" Neville said with a slight smirk as he gestured over towards the fireplace.

"_Really?_" Hermione responded, raising her eyebrow slightly she could see the three girls huddled up on the couch laughing a little too hysterically "Thanks Neville, I'll go and congratulate her on her win"

Hermione had no such intention though; she was not impressed with the younger witch and her fire whiskey at that moment. She strode over towards the fire, building a huge storm of scorn for Ginny and her Fire Whisky, but before she could reach the red head she felt a hand on her arm and another around her shoulder pulling her in and slowing her pace "Hermione Hi!" Harry said as he rounded on the slightly agitated witch. He had managed to escape from the center of the celebrations for a moment, as the crowd was distracted by Lee's brilliant recollection of the match "...I was sure the girls were going to mess it up..." Lee was explaining to the younger members of the audience, Hermione could hear his yelling fade in the background as she refocussed on Harry.

"Hi Harry, congratulations on the win! You did superbly in the match" Hermione shot him the biggest smile she could muster in the moment "But if you will excuse me I have a Weasley to attend to, and surprisingly it's not Ron"

"Ah yeah about the Hermione, maybe ah" Harry could feel himself shrinking under the brunettes glare but before he could get the rest of his words out Hermione chimed in.

"Maybe what Harry?" Hermione repeated with a slight iciness to her tone.

"Maybe just go easy on her Hermione, she's just being, well, Ginny. It was a bloody good game she's just celebrating" Harry tried to reason with The Brunette but he knew his efforts were in vein.

"Celebrating? _Celebrating?"_ Hermione said with a sarcastic tone creeping in to her last word, Harry could feel Hermione's retort building "Celebrating is not drinking practically _all_ the Fire Whisky that your brothers decided to give you as a sign of their fondness for Gryffindor's win!"

Hermione's voice reached a level that caught the attention of the first years congregating around waiting for Harry's attention and she shot them a look of disapproval, sending them scattering across the common room in fear.

"Now Harry if you'll excuse me" Hermione requested again as she stepped away from their conversation, leaving Harry with the pack of first years. She turned on her heel and began to approach Ginny still sitting on the coach, but before she could start her scalding Ginny saw the brunette coming and clumsily rose to her feet throwing out her arms "'Miowone! Wher'v been yew, I mean Where are you?!" The red her spoke her words finding it hard to work out the logical order and decided to just spill out where they fell.

"Where have I been do you mean to say? Well let's see, I watched you play a fantastic game of Quidditch today" Hermione started with a sarcastic kindness to her voice, clearly being lost on Ginny as she took the compliment with a nod "I then checked the posters that I placed up for any responses"

"yanythik?" Ginny responded with a mock seriousness as she rocked slightly, trying to maintain her footing.

"No Ginny, nothing. I then ventured on, into the common room to join the Gryffindor celebration, but unfortunately someone had finished all the Fire Whisky" The brunette conclude cleverly, she eyed Ginny knowingly and the red head stopped dead in her tracks. She could see the disappointment growing on the Older Witches face and suddenly felt a sobering mood fall on the conversation.

"'Mione, I" Ginny didn't know what to say, she knew how upset Hermione was with her and to make matters worse both Katie and Demelza were calling after her now.

"Gin!" Katie said grabbing her by the hand and pulling her towards the stairs to the girls' dorms "Come on! A few of us are heading upstairs, leave her be Granger she's only having fun, you should too" Katie teased.

With that the red head was pulled away from their conversation, but she couldn't miss the tears welling in Hermione's eyes. Ginny tried to pull away from Katie's grip but it was no use, the Brunette was already gone, making her way toward the fat lady, away from Ginny and the rest of the party.

* * *

Hermione climbed the stairs to the astronomy tower, putting on the extra coat and scarf she had placed in the bag for the Quidditch match that day, you could never predict the weather or the length of a match and so she always packed extra. She reached the landing and paced over towards her favourite spot in the tower where she could see the entire night sky but was sheltered enough from any direct gusts of wind which around this time of night could send shivers down the warmest of wizards or witches.

She placed bag on the ground and pulled her wand from her pocket conjuring up a few small bluebell flames and surrounded herself with the soft light and warmth they gave off. She wiped the tears from her face and as she sat down she wondered exactly why Ginny Weasley's silly actions tonight had conjured that type of reaction from her. She had seen that type of behaviour from the Young witch before and although she had been disappointed with Ginny in the past, something was different tonight. As she sat and thought it over, her head was not clearing, nor were her tears slowing. She reached into her bag to pull a quill and parchment out, but for some reason she could not find the ones she was sure she had packed. 'They were in here I swear' Hermione thought to herself and she continued to riffle through her bag, pulling out text book after text book and even a few copies of the Quibbler, but no parchment.

A few moments later she finally found a quill, its nib sitting neatly between the pages of the book from the great lake, and in a panic she quickly pulled out both the quill and book absolutely petrified that a drop of ink had leaked into the book. She opened its pages but thankfully the quill was dry and not a trace of ink had met the beautiful parchment. She sighed with relief, she knew how precious this book was and she would have been so upset had she tainted its fresh pages, she couldn't believe how careless she had been, she was sure she had put her quill and parchment in a separate compartment on her bag. She made a mental not to make sure it was definitely separate next time.

This did not solve her problem though, she had a quill but she was also without ink and parchment, and she was feeling more and more annoyed that she couldn't write her thoughts out. She opened the book again, looking down at its clean and beautiful pages; she could feel the thickness of the books parchment in her hand and thought about where she could possibly find another book like this for herself. With her quill in the other hand she absentmindedly scribbled her name on the blank page, pretending to sign the top of the page, and to Hermione's amazement, there before her 'Hermione Granger' in the most perfect ink occupied the page, shining a little in the light.

Her breath caught in her throat, she felt the nib of her quill, but it was completely dry, she couldn't understand, there was absolutely no ink on the quill, in a panic she checked the back of her hand, for some obscure reason she thought it might be a blood quill from Umbriges office, but nothing no words on her hand.

She turned back to the book, its cover now closed and its 'H' staring up towards Hermione like a desperate sign. She opened it up and flicked through the pages to try and find the page she had carelessly signed, but as the pages fluttered by her, there was no sign of her penmanship. She flicked from front to back thinking maybe she signed on the other side of the page, still nothing. 'Odd' she thought to herself, she had absolutely seen the ink on the page, one more time she flicked through, and this time she found it, but it was not Hermione's name, it was a full page; it was in fact a letter. Hermione was even more confused with what she was witnessing and began to read the page hoping it would give her some idea about what was happening on the pages of this little leather book, but as she read on it became apparent that she was finding out about something entirely different, Hermione had found a confession addressed only to her:

_Hermione,_

_Where to start, this of course is unexpected for me and so I'm not quite sure how far to take it. I'm surrounded by so many beautiful novels right now, full of so many courageous people, loving against the odds, defying what they thought was their path and eventually finding their way to their fate._

_Maybe part of me, is thinking I have found my own path to my own fate. Even in Hogwarts with all the magic trapped in these walls the coincidence and the lengths of the events I have experienced tonight are uncanny. Traditionally I don't believe that fate is so finite and sealed, but I may believe just a little tonight that it could be._

_As typical and cliché as it sounds, it has taken me this long to finally see exactly who has been standing in front of me, this whole time. I adore you Hermione, your wonderful mind, your kindness, your selflessness and sometimes even your more critical words. Above all though, I love how oblivious you are to all your natural charisma and beauty. I'm not going to write you a poem, I'm not even entirely sure if this is a love letter. What I am sure of is that someone or something is telling me that you should know. I'm not really sure where I want this letter to lead, but something has told me to just start and so I have._

_Thinking of you more each day,_

_G x_

Hermione was absolutely robbed of words, she had read and re-read over the letter, and it had not yet vanished off her page. She began to realize that this book wasn't lost, this book wasn't misplaced, and this book was meant for Hermione Granger. The older Witch could not believe what she was reading, who in their right mind would be feeling this type of emotion for Hermione? And on top of that who would publish it in book that she had found. The question become less rhetorical for Hermione. 'Who?' she through to herself 'Who indeed'. The letter was signed G, she was guessing this was the initial of the confessor. She thought for a moment on the letter and all she could come up with was "Goyle! Ah, eek" she spoke his name aloud with an unpleasant taste in her mouth, clearly it was not him. There was no one else to Hermione's recollection. Perhaps it simply stood for their house, or was it there last name? Or even middle name?, She did not know, nor was she really in the mood to continue the guessing game. She was tired and was fast reaching the end of her tether. She decided to head back to the common room, knowing by now that the party would have been dismissed by McGonagall.

* * *

She climbed back through the portrait and just as she thought the common room was empty, except for one lone set of shoes by the fire. Hermione could see that they were attached to a body waiting under Harry's invisibility cloak. Hermione had a feeling it wasn't Harry though, He knew better than to leave such an obvious clue. As she got a little closer she recognized the shoes, the belonged to Ginny Weasley. She thought it strange that Ginny hadn't moved, but as The brunette leaned closer again she could hear a heavy breath and she knew the younger girl was sleeping. Hermione contemplated for a minute leaving the redhead there, she might deserve an uncomfortable sleep after her actions tonight but the it got the better of hermione and she slowly pulled the invisibility cloak from Ginny. She saw the younger witches eyes flutter open at the change in her environment.

"Gin, whatever are you doing?" Hermione asked, she just didn't have it in her to mad at the girl any longer.

"Hermione, you back, finally. I was so worried" Ginny said still looking a little dazed from her nap.

"Why would you worry? it's just Hogwarts, and I do know the place rather well"

"I wasn't worried about you running into another Troll, I think you are a bit smarter now" the red head smiled at Hermione but it was fleeting "I was worried because you left so quickly and I know that I really up-"

Hermione cut her off "Gin it's fine, I overreacted but you could have gotten yourself into a lot of trouble! It was probably best you went upstairs McGonagall would not have spared you"

"You're right, 'Mione I don't know what came over me" The older girl look toward the ground, shuffling her feet. Hermione was right, another stunt like that and Ginny could almost kiss Hogwarts goodbye "I won't let it happen again. Anyway where did you get to?"

"I went to the astronomy tower, just for a little bit to clear my head. The strangest thing happened while I was up there" Hermione explained suddenly remembering the book.

She explained what had happened to Ginny and once she was finished she pulled the book from her bag and opened it to the page where Ginny's letter lay in all its honesty.

"Who could it be Gin?" Hermione asked, still looking puzzled as ever.

Ginny could not believe how close she was to being found out, her stomach was doing back flips and her face was on fire, she knew it must have been a similar share to her hair right now, 'thank Merlin for the fire light' she thought.

"Uh I really don't know 'Mione it could be anyone. There is that new kid in Hufflepuff, Uh Gary Golchward? maybe it's him?" Ginny said hurriedly, doing her best to sound coy about the situation.

"Hmm maybe, but I really don't know him at all and the letter, it just sounds like someone that knows me well" Hermione wondered

"Well I might be off to bed, I'm glad your back, but I'm pretty worn out" The younger girl rose to her feet doing her best to avoid the conversation.

"Oh ok Gin, well I'll see you in the morning" Hermione conceded "Might be best to take a shower before breakfast too"

"Uh yeah ok thanks" Ginny said a little embarrassed.

* * *

Hi Everyone, sorry this has taken a bit of time to get up. Hopefully you like it, still a little slow but trust me, it will be worth it. A bit of Quidditch in this one! Those scenes are definitely a challenge to write! Let me know what you think as always feedback is welcomed! Thanks again to everyone who has given feedback, I am overwhelmed by your kindness! This is a longer chapter as some of you asked for that and I will try and keep them at this longer length from now on.


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